Researching Intersectionality: Ethical Issues

ABSTRACT

This essay explores ethical issues in researching ‘intersectionality’, focusing in particular on: positionality in relation to topic and research relationships; and the relationship of intersectional positionality to ‘insider/outsider’ status. I argue that reflection on intersectional positionality is a key ethical consideration of social research, and propose some guiding questions for this purpose.

KEYWORDS:

• Intersectionality
• positionality
• reflexivity
• ethics

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Emerita Viviene Cree for the opportunity to develop these ideas during her course ‘Working with self and others in qualitative research’, and for encouragement to submit the essay to the Jo Campling Memorial Prize. I would also like to thank both Viv and Cat Wayland for helpful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Ashlee Christoffersen worked in equalities as a practitioner and researcher and is now a PhD Candidate in Social Policy.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the ESRC.